Types of Car and Deep Cycle batteries

• Wet (also known as "flooded", "liquid electrolyte", "vented", or "VLA" cell). Within the wet category, the three most common battery types are Standard (Sb/Sb),Low Maintenance(Sb/Ca) and Maintenance Free (Ca/Ca), which are defined in moredetail below.
• Valve Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA). In the VRLAcategory, there are AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat), spiral wound AGM, and Gel Celllead-acid batteries.
• Sealed Lead Acid. The one additional categoryfor smaller (typically below 50 AH) Deep Cycle batteries is SLA (Sealed LeadAcid) using AGM or Gel Cell construction. They are sealed with a safety pressurerelief valve or plug in case of excessive gas pressure build up due to overcharging.

Selecting a type of battery
Whenselecting a battery type, it is extremely important that you select one thatwill match the voltage output of your charging system. The easiest way to accomplishthis is to replace your battery with the same or compatible type of battery thatoriginally was installed. If you change your replacement battery to another batterytype, you might have to adjust the charging voltage to prevent underchargingor overcharging that could damage or reduce the service life of your new battery.For example, replacing an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)wet sealed MaintenanceFree (Ca/Ca) with a wet non-sealed Low Maintenance (Sb/Ca)battery (with fillercaps) might cause the Low-Maintenance (Sb/Ca) battery to be slightly overchargedand consume more water. If you charge a Maintenance Free(Ca/Ca) battery witha charging system or charger designed for a Low Maintenance(Sb/Ca) battery (withfiller caps), you could undercharge the Maintenance Free(Ca/Ca) battery. Replacingany other non-Gel Cell type of battery with a Gel Cell could overcharge it. Whenin doubt, replace with an AGM or spiral wound AGM battery.

Deep Cycle batteries are broadly divided intomotive and stationary applications.

• Motive applications are where the batteryis discharged in operations that will consume between 20% and 80% of the battery'scapacity and then recharged (which is considered to be one cycle). Some examplesof motive (also known as "cycling" or "traction") applicationsare for batteries used in recreational vehicles (RV), motor homes, caravans,trailers,boats, wheelchairs, golf carts, solar, floor sweepers, folk lift trucks and otherelectric vehicles (EV) and typically have 200-500 cycles per year.Non-sealedwet Standard (Sb/Sb), wet Low-Maintenance (Sb/Ca), VRLA AGM or VRLA Gel Cellbatteries with pasted, tubular or Manchester ("Manchex") positive platesor VRLA Spiral Wound AGM batteries are recommended for motive deep cycle applications.
• Stationary (also known as "float", "reserve", "backup" or "standby")applications arewhere stationary batteries is used to provide backup or standby power duringloss of the primary source of power such as uninterruptible power systems (UPS),emergency lighting systems, security systems, telecommunications systems, etc.,and typically have 2-12 cycles per year. Generally, stationary batteries havelonger service lives, more life cycles and cost more than motive batteries. Thechargers for motive and stationary batteries are different as well. Non-sealedwet Standard (Sb/Sb), wet Low-Maintenance (Sb/Ca), wet Maintenance Free (Ca/Ca)batteries with pasted or solid (Planté) positive plates are recommendedfor stationary applications.

Wet Deep Cycle batteries, such as Marine/RV, leisureand some golf cart, that use pasted positive plates are less expensive to manufacturerand have few life cycles and shorter service lives at 50% average Depth-of-Discharge(DoD)level than the Deep Cycle batteries with solid (Planté), tubular or Manchester(or "Manchex") positive plates. They also have significantly fewerlife cycles at the 80% average DoD level. Be aware that some starting batterymanufacturers have added handles and stud type terminals to their cheaper startingbatteries and sell them as Marine/RV Deep Cycle. The major disadvantage of VRLA(AGMor Gel Cell) Deep Cycle batteries are their high initial cost (up to three timesover the cost of a wet Standard (Sb/Sb) batteries), but arguably can have anoverall lower total cost of ownership due to a longer service life, no "watering" andother labor costs, and faster recharging. The total cost of ownership shouldbe considered when buying Deep Cycle batteries.

Advantages and disadvantages of the differenttypes of batteries

• Conventional or Wet Standard (Sb/Sb). Standard or "Conventional" (Sb/Sb)non-sealedlead-acid batteries (with filler caps) have Lead-Antimony (Sb)/Antimony(Sb) platesand have been commercially available for almost 100 years. They have a:
• Tolerance for a wide range of charging current (to25% of the battery's capacity) and voltage.
• Long service live (if properly maintained).
• Increased water consumption.
• Lowtolerance for heat (they will lose half of their service life for every Increaseof 15° F (8.3° C) over 80° F (26.7° C).
• High self discharge rate (depending on the temperatureup to 50%-60% per month).
• Charging losses of 15%-20% and maximum continuousdischarge rate 25% of their capacity.

Summary: Forthese reasons, they have almost been completely replaced by wet Low Maintenance(Ca/Sb)batteries for high temperature under hood starting applications, but arestill used for many Deep Cycle motive applications. Wet Standard (Sb/Sb) batteriesare generally the least expensive lead-acid batteries.

Flooded , Wet or Low Maintenance (Sb/Ca)
The wet (or "flooded" cell)Low Maintenance batteries (with filler caps) have a Lead-Antimony (Sb)/Calcium(Ca) dual alloy or hybrid plate formulations.They have most of the same characteristicsas a wet Standard (Sb/Sb) batteries,except they can handle the high under hoodheat better. Some battery manufacturers,such as Johnson Controls, build "North" and "South" Carbattery versions to make up for the differences in cold and hot climates. Somealso construct special Car batteries that have a higher tolerance to heat bychanging plate or connecting strap formulations or providing for more electrolyte.For off road applications in trucks, recreational vehicles (RV's), motor caravans,4x4s, vans or SUV's (Sport Utility Vehicles), some battery manufacturers build "highvibration", "heavy duty", "commercial", or "RV" batteryversions designed to reduce the effects of moderate vibration. A wet Low Maintenance(Sb/Ca)battery will typically cost a little more than a similar sized wet Standard(Sb/Sb)battery.

Wet or Maintenance-Free (Ca/Ca)
WetMaintenance Free batteries have a Lead-Calcium (Ca)/Calcium (Ca)plate chemistryor formulation, for example, Delphi 's ACDelco. The advantages of MaintenanceFree (Ca/Ca) batteries over Low Maintenance (Sb/Ca) are:

• Less preventive maintenance due to less water loss.
• Greater overcharge resistance.
• Reduced terminal corrosion.
• Up to 400% less self discharge.
• Less risk to consumers because there is less to service.

Summary:However, they are more prone to deep discharge ("dead" or "flat" battery)failures due to increased shedding of active plate material and development ofa barrier layer between the active plate material and the grid metal. If a MaintenanceFree (Ca/Ca) battery is sealed, water can not be added when required. For thatreason, in hot climates, using non-sealed wet batteries (with filler caps), soyou add distilled water, for under the hood or a sealed AGM battery inside thepassenger compartment or trunk is highly encouraged for longer battery servicelife. Wet Maintenance Free (Ca/Ca) batteries are generally more expensive thanwet Low Maintenance (Sb/Ca) batteries.

AGM, or Absorbed Glass Mat
It istrue that AGM batteries are more expensive than Maintenance Free(Ca/Ca) batteries.AGM batteries offer the following advantages over conventional batteries:

• Safer. Due the much lower production of hydrogengas during charging.
• Maintenance-free. Sealed maintenance-free design meansyou never have to worry about checking water levels. You'll never have to checkor add electrolyte again, unlike conventional batteries which require periodicfluid checks. Do not require water.
• Sealed. Spill proof. They can be mounted in virtuallyany position (because they are sealed).
• No corrosion. Liquid-free AGM design will not leakor corrode on paint and chrome. It also eliminates corrosion around the batteryterminals.
• They have less internal resistance that offers moreCCA amperage than wet batteries.
• Heat & vibration resistant. By nature AGM batteriesare more heat and vibration resistant than conventional batteries, both whichcontribute to the large majority of failures in motorcycle & competitionauto applications.
• Slower self-discharge rate. Slower self-dischargerate (longer shelf life) means battery can sit for extended periods of time withoutconstant monitoring. A wet battery discharges 15% a month, where our AGM batteriesdischarge only 2-3% a month. AGM batteries have less internal resistance whichallows them to produce more discharge current (cold cranking amperage) vs. comparableconventional"wet" batteries, and AGM batteries also recharge faster
• Longer service life.
• Lower deep discharge failure.
• Higherbulk charge acceptance rate (which means up to a 15% shorter recharge time).
• Do not require special hazardous shipping and canbe used near saltwater.

Gel Cell
Sealed VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead-Acid) Gel Cell batteries use GRT (RecombinantGas Technology) and use a thickening agent like fumed silica gel to immobilethe electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte like the wet batteries. Theyhave a lot of the same advantages of AGM batteries. When comparing Gel Cell toAGM and Spiral Wound AGM batteries, Gel Cells will typically:

• Greater ability to withstand a deep discharge,but not temperatures over over 100°F (37.8° C) because of the possibilityof"thermal runaway".
• 10 to 15 cycle preconditioning or "break-in" period.
• Less Cold Cranking Amps.
• 80%of the capacity of a similar sized AGM battery and physically larger.
• Slower recharging times and intolerant of higher chargingvoltages.
• Lower capacity in cold temperatures.
• Up to 20% more life cycles.
• Costs more to manufacture.
• Charginglosses of 4% and maximum continuous discharge rate 25% of their capacity.